Sonic rainboom (event)

The rainbow wake of Rainbow Dash's second sonic rainboom over Cloudsdale.

A sonic rainboom is an aerobatic maneuver that is performed by Rainbow Dash in several episodes. "Sonic rainboom" is a portmanteau of "sonic boom" and "rainbow." Dash first performs this stunt in the season one episode Sonic Rainboom. It is characterized by a vibrantly-colored ring that expands from the point of the sonic rainboom's occurrence accompanied by a shockwave and a rainbow wake trailing behind it.

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Appearances in the series

Sonic rainbooms are first mentioned in the titular episode, where Dash practices her routine for the Best Young Flyer competition. Her ability to perform the maneuver is questionable through the first half of the episode with her dedicated practice making seemingly no progress towards being able to complete it. Later in the episode, however, Dash pulls it off in the process of her frantic effort to save Rarity and three Wonderbolts who are plummeting down to Earth. The move dazzles the stadium's audience and boosts the Pegasus's speed, allowing her to catch the group in distress before impact. This event is later mentioned by Spitfire in the episode The Best Night Ever.

The second time sonic rainbooms are mentioned is in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. Rainbow Dash, in a flashback, races against two other Pegasus ponies, and unwittingly performs a sonic rainboom while she speeds along the race's obstacle course. She earns her cutie mark almost immediately afterwards.

"Most people thought that the Sonic Rainboom was just an old mare's tail. But that day... The day I discovered racing... I proved that the legends were true. I made the impossible happen!"

Both this sonic rainboom and the one in Sonic Rainboom are performed when Rainbow Dash is leading with both front legs forward, while in her failed practice attempts she is leading with a single leg.

Pinkie Pie as a filly, witnessing the sonic rainboom that would change her life.

The very same sonic rainboom that earned Dash her cutie mark was involved in the other leading characters earning theirs. Applejack, who was visiting relatives in Manehattan, sees its rainbow wake which seemed to point back to Ponyville, and discovers she wants to work on her family's farm. Fluttershy calms animals that have been frightened by the sonic rainboom, and discovers her affinity to animals. Rarity witnesses a giant rock getting cracked open by the sonic rainboom, and discovers it contains gems. She affirms her love for fashion and gems and gets her cutie mark. Twilight Sparkle is personally affected by the sonic rainboom; it takes place during her entrance exam for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and sends her into a powerful magical state which allows her to hatch Spike. After a few accidents and Princess Celestia's intervention, Twilight discovers her cutie mark. Pinkie Pie draws inspiration from the sonic rainboom's rainbow wake and holds her very first party, which earns her her cutie mark. Pinkie Pie mentions in Sonic Rainboom that she has never seen a sonic rainboom before in her life. This contradicts her flashback in the episode where she witnesses one, however she only realizes what it actually is at the end of the episode.

Rainbow Dash performing another sonic rainboom in the sky over Canterlot.

The sonic rainboom is featured again in the season 2 finale, A Canterlot Wedding. Rainbow Dash is instructed by Princess Celestia to perform a sonic rainboom for the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance; later in Part 1, she mentions having been busy preparing for it. She performs the maneuver in Part 2 right as the couple kisses at the end of the ceremony as instructed, and seems to do so very quickly and effortlessly as she bolts her dress off.

Interestingly, this is the first occasion when Rainbow is shown as creating a rainboom in a climb. In both previous occasions, she needed to accelerate in a dive to reach the required velocity before arcing upwards into a climb.

In Part 1 of the season five finale, Twilight gives a lecture at the School for Gifted Unicorns about Cutie Mark Magic and discusses the cause and effect of the very rainboom that give the Mane Six their cutie marks. Using a spell to travel back in time, Starlight Glimmer spends most of the finale preventing the rainboom from occurring.

Similar effects

The cloud and ring made by Rainbow Dash crashing into the barn.

The "rainbow colored shockwave ring" effect is used again in different episodes. When the ponies use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord in The Return of Harmony Part 2, a similar ring emanates from them when they activate the Elements' magic. In Lesson Zero, Rainbow Dash demolishes a broken-down barn for Applejack by flying into it. Dash crashes into the barn, creating a colorful mushroom cloud and a ring-shaped shockwave much like that of the sonic rainboom. The sound effect is also re-used for the shockwave which removes the changelings from Canterlot, Discord's defeat, and Philomena's regeneration and related 'Magic' sounds associated with the sonic rainboom are also used in other places.